Tea Party Express

Tea Party Express is the name for a public relations blitz in 2009 via a cross-country caravan of buses and cars making 35 stops for rallies featured on conservative media. Tea Party Patriots (TPP) is a conservative group initially organized by Freedomworks, which was responsible for organizing the anti-healthcare reform town hall mobs that occurred during the congressional recess period in August, 2009.

This is one tour among several recent, simultaneous, or future scheduled tours. There are several astroturf organizations sending buses around in their own names. See also Americans For Prosperity's Hot Air Balloon Tour ; Americans For Prosperity's Patients First Bus Tour ; and the American Energy Alliance's American Energy Express.

The Tea Party Express Unfolds

 * In what appears to be the earliest news listing for the Tea Party Express, a Talking Points Memo post of August 3rd, 2009 mentioned that sponsors of the tour were Our Country Deserves Better PAC, and Americans for Prosperity ;


 * Subsequently, the Washington Times Moonie paper revealed more details, including that the tour would finish at Bridgeport, Connecticut where Moon's Unification Church USA is headquartered. Additional sponsors were revealed: FreedomWorks, the conservative advocacy group headed by former House Majority Leader Dick Armey of Texas, the National Tax Limitation Committee, and Tea Party Patriots. Americans for Prosperity, which has launched a Patients First bus trip,American Conservative Union Club for Growth. All of these groups are involved in The 912 Project's 912dc.org March on Washington.


 * By August 19th, Rupert Murdoch's Fox News had shown it's hand that it was part of the bus tour promotion.


 * August 28th, 2009, bus tour begins with fanfare in Sacramento, California.

Tour Partners Logos on website homepage
On its website, the Tea Party Express lists its "tour partners" as comprising:
 * http://www.ourcountrydeservesbetter.com/ -- Our Country Deserves Better
 * http://www.marktalk.com/ -- MarkTalk.com, the website of radio talk show presenter Mark Williams;
 * http://www.lloydmarcus.com/ -- Lloyd Marcus who describes himself on his website as a "proud Black Conservative Entertainer/Speaker "American Tea Party Anthem"'
 * http://www.limittaxes.com/ -- National Tax Limitation Committee Bronze Sponsor 912dc.org, The 912 Project
 * http://www.freerepublic.com/ -- Free Republic
 * http://www.freedomworks.org/ -- FreedomWorks, was Citizens for a Sound Economy, Sponsor 912dc.org, The 912 Project
 * http://www.parcbench.com/ -- ParcBench, which is also a Bronze Sponsor of 912dc.org's, The 912 Project
 * http://www.multiccc.org/ -- MultiCultural Conservative Coalition
 * http://www.teapartyexpress.org

Contact details
Website: http://www.teapartyexpress.org

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Tea Party Patriots
 * Tea Party Nation
 * Our Country Deserves Better